Monday, November 24, 2008

Creative Ways to Give Cash and Gift Cards 2008

This year is a tight year for many. With it being such a tough (financially) season...Cash and Gift Cards would make great gifts for many! Not to mention this gift is great for those who love shopping the After Christmas Sales or for the people on your list that are just so hard to buy for!!!
With this being such a predictable gift (maybe)...I thought I should repost my "Creative Ways to Give Gift Cards and CASH!" from last year with a few minor tweaks and added links for even MORE great ways by other great sites:

Here is a couple of ways I have seen cash and gift cards given, in an exciting way!

1) Whatever the amount of Cash you want to give, go to the bank and get it in ones!!! One year, my sister's secret santa in the family gave her $50 in ONES, and put in a large box with crumpled up shreds of newspaper! On the box, the label said: "CAREFUL SMALL PARTS!" All the family watched to see what the gift was in all that paper! hee hee Then, we all got it, as she pulled out one crumpled dollar bill after another! Everyone watched on to see just how much money was in there as our limit is only $20 for the family "secret santa" gifts...once she hit $20..we were like whoa...how much is in there? That is one of those times a video camera would have been handy, and would love to be able to rewind and watch again.

2) My mother, one year, gave my father-in-law money and again in ONES and filled up a little Christmas tree with the ones as "origami money ornaments!" Had to stare at it to figure out it was money on the tree! She gave a "Money Tree!" Sometimes money does come on trees, still not growing on them! :-)

3) For GIFT CARDS and GIFT CERTIFICATES: One year I bought my Mom an Aigner Credit Card Holder, and filled it up with $20 gift cards for many things (about $200 worth)...from grocery store to the movies, to a manicure! Loads of fun in a wallet! Merry Christmas to all and Happy Holidays!

4) For CASH combined with GIFT CARDS and TICKETS to Riverdance: A different year (I believe for Mother's Day)...all my mom wanted was a water pitcher from Wal-Mart that was like $5.00...I got her that (of course) and filled it with other items I wanted her to have: I gave her $20 with a printed note that said for "thrift stores and yard sales" with a cute little graphic on it; There was a gift card but I don't remember what it was for; A matching Aigner Checkbook with tickets to "Riverdance" inside for her, sister, and myself to go all together for a girls big day out. She was speechless! (It was a better year financially that year.)

Those are some of my personal examples...What are yours?

Meanwhile....here are just a few other great sites with this topic...Enjoy! I know I did...man there are so many ways to gift cash and cards...don't be boring, plenty of ideas here not to be! :-) (I do understand getting in a hurry at times...cash is ALWAYS appreciated!)

ThriftyFun (for cash)

ThriftyFun (for gift cards)

I will be looking for more to add (after work today)! Happy Monday and Happy Holidays...have an Excellent Turkey Day!

3 comments:

SCREAMING FOR CHOCOLATE said...

Everyone needs to make sure their store gift cards will still be good. I received an email with a long list of stores that is closing after the first of the year. Those cards will be worthless after that. I wish I could find the email to copy the names. I think I deleted it. Have a nice day.....

Melanie said...

Thank you so much for this heads up...if you find the info...please post it here so I can share with anyone that might be in the market for gift cards (including myself!)!!! Thank you again!

Anonymous said...

Wow!

I really liked your post, interesting perspective. I was looking out for the same kind of information. Thanks a lot.

Cash Gifting